This Activity will supply disinfected water to Dili and four districts of Timor-Leste (Aileu, Ermera, Liquica, and Manatuto) through the design and construction of an On-site Sodium Hypochlorite Generation (“OSHG”) plant and the purchase of disinfectant distribution equipment. MCC Funding will support the design and construction of the OSHG plant which will provide the required amount of 0.8% sodium hypochlorite solution for disinfection of wastewater and drinking water. The drinking water disinfection component will serve the Dili Municipal Water System and the four targeted districts. The facility will house up to four OSHG skids each with a production capacity of 680kg/day. MCC Funding also will support the design and construction of a high-grade sodium chloride storage building at the Wastewater Treatment Plant with the capacity to store salt, the primary raw material required for the OSHG system, with capacity for a two-month supply of salt. This high-grade sodium chloride storage building will also house brine tanks, water tank, pressure filters, water pump, and brine pumps.
The aim of the Sanitation Activity is to remove fecal pathogens from the environment and reduce exposure pathways through the development of a new centralized wastewater treatment system in Dili, which has nearly four times the population density and higher incidence of diarrheal disease when compared to the other districts of Timor-Leste. This activity includes the design and construction of a new wastewater treatment plant (“Wastewater Treatment Plant”), ocean outfall, wastewater collection systems, and wastewater connections to households and businesses.
This Activity includes improving specific portions of the drainage system in areas where the WSD Project-funded conventional gravity sewer system will be constructed. Installing the sanitary sewer and the drainage infrastructure simultaneously provides the opportunity to avoid conflicts between the two systems. MCC Funding will provide for the construction of new drainage structures in the Activity areas.
To ensure long-term sustainability of the WSD Project’s infrastructure investments, this Activity will support the capacity building and institutional development of the water utility with a focus on strengthening asset management expertise and operations and maintenance (“O&M”) capacity. The Activity will further promote sustainability through targeted assistance to the new independent water regulator (“ANAS”), to develop and implement regulations around sanitation and disinfection. Together with other institutional reform efforts that are supported by the Government and other development partners, this Activity contributes to improved customer services and the sustainability of all assets under the management of the newly established water utility, the Bee Timor Leste Public Company (“BTL”), including the Project-funded construction
This Activity includes interventions to increase household and community awareness of the benefits of and support for the infrastructure as well as the adoption and maintenance of key behaviors aimed at reducing fecal pathogens and ultimately reducing the diarrheal disease burden, using a gender-focused approach. Social behavioral change techniques employed in these interventions will seek to improve the knowledge, awareness, social support, and self-efficacy of project participants in performing these behaviors and be appropriately phased to complement infrastructure milestones and interventions.
